Where to celebrate Wright’s 150th birthday in Japan

An avid collector and dealer in Japanese ukiyo-e prints, architect Frank Lloyd Wright also practiced his own art in Japan, winning acclaim and disciples with the debut of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo in 1923. Although the hotel was rebuilt in the 1960s, se

Meiji Mura: The main entrance and lobby of Wright’s Imperial Hotel draw numerous visitors to Meiji Mura (Meiji Village), an open-air architecture theme park in Inuyama, about an hour from Nagoya by car or public transit. The distinctive bricks of volcanic tuff, decorative terra-cotta tiles and gridded windows were carefully dismantled and reassembled here; the stone front desk, geometric lamps and other Wright-inspired furnishings only add to the ambience, which you can also enjoy from the second-floor tea room. The park takes its name from the Meiji Era of renewed contact with the West, which began in 1868 (a year after Wright’s birth), and includes churches, homes, shops and even two jails of the period. A special exhibition on Wright in Japan, funded by the Imperial Hotel, is on view through Dec. 10. General park admission is $15; www.meijimura.com/english.

Myonichikan at Jiyu Gakuen: Wright’s design for Jiyu Gakuen, a Christian-inspired school for girls in Tokyo’s Ikebukuro district, began in 1921, while he was working on the Imperial Hotel. Today an alumni center and popular wedding venue, the symmetrical structure with a large grass courtyard is called Myonichikan, the House of Tomorrow, and includes a large auditorium by Wright’s disciple Arata Endo and a high-ceilinged tea room. Admission is $3.50, $5.25 with coffee or tea. www.jiyu.jp/index-e.html.

Koshien Hall: Although Wright was not the architect, his Imperial Hotel heavily influenced Endo’s 1930 design for Koshien Hotel in Nishinomiya, about a half-hour from Osaka by car or public transit. The use of natural light, patterned bricks and tiles, angular furniture, and changes in elevation all recall Wright, as does the careful framing of garden views. It’s now the school of architecture for Mukogawa Women’s University; students not only lead tours of Koshien Hall, but also incorporate its design into their studies. Tours are free, but English-language tours should be arranged well in advance; www.mukogawa-u.ac.jp/ ~kkcampus/english.

Yodoko Guest House: Besides Myonichikan, this former residence on a hillside in Ayisha, about a halfhour from Kobe, is the only other fully extant structure by Wright in Japan. Designed for a sake brewer in 1918 and completed in 1924, the four-story house later became the property of a steel works company and opened to the public in 1989. Although it’s closed for restorations through late 2018, you can take a virtual tour of its stone pillars, fireplaces, light-filled halls and other key elements online; www.yodoko.co.jp/ geihinkan/index_e.html.